The Richmond Spiders visit Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena in Philadelphia on Tuesday night to take on the Saint Joseph’s Hawks for the Atlantic 10 Conference battle. According to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Spiders are firm 11-point favorites with a total of 155.5 points, so let’s see what’s the best betting pick here.
Richmond is tied for the fifth-best record in the Atlantic 10, while the Hawks sit bottom of the standings, still searching for their first win in the conference play.
The Spiders returned to action after two weeks
The Richmond Spiders (9-4; 3-2 Conf.) are coming off an 84-78 home loss at the Robins Center in Richmond, Virginia to La Salle this past Saturday in what was their first outing in two weeks. They suffered a painful defeat as 14.5-point favorites, allowing the Explorers to make 57.1% of their field goals and 52.9% of their 3-pointers.
The Spiders heavily lean on their starters who all average points in double figures. Senior guard Blake Francis tops the scoring chart with 16.5 points a night; senior forward Grant Golden tallies 15.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, while sophomore forward Tyler Burton adds 12.8 points and 8.5 boards per contest.
Richmond is scoring 112.8 points per 100 possessions (26th in the country) while yielding 98.9 in a return (119th). The Spiders are No. 60 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 61 in the KenPom rankings.
The Hawks’ woes go on with Ryan Daly on the sidelines
The Saint Joseph’s Hawks (1-12, 0-7 Conf.) are still missing senior guard Ryan Daly which is a huge blow for their offense. Daly has averaged 17.2 points and 6.2 rebounds through five appearances thus far, and in his absence, the Hawks relied on junior forward Taylor Funk (16.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG) and sophomore guard Jack Forrest (11.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG).
Saint Joseph’s is on a four-game losing streak following a 71-62 defeat to George Mason this past Saturday. It was another bad shooting performance by the Hawks, as they made 35.2% of their field goals and 26.9% of their 3-pointers.
The Hawks are scoring 102.3 points per 100 possessions (158th) while surrendering 105.5 in a return (251st). They are No. 247 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 192 in the KenPom rankings, as the Hawks faced the 22nd-toughest strength of schedule of all Division I teams.
Richmond:
- 6-2 ATS in the last eight games against the Atlantic 10 Conference
- 5-1 ATS in the last six road contests
Saint Joseph’s:
- 5-12 ATS in the last 17 games overall
- 0-5 ATS in the last five home contests
The Spiders desperately need to bounce back from that surprising loss to La Salle. They are a good offensive team, so the Spiders shouldn’t have any problems beating the shorthanded Hawks. I’m backing them to cover because the Hawks have been terrible defensively thus far and will struggle against Richmond all day long.
Richmond is 8-5 straight up and ATS in its last 13 meetings with Saint Joseph’s. Last season, the Spiders routed the Hawks as 13-point home favorites, 84-52.
Pick: Take Richmond -11.0 at -110
The Total:
The total has gone over and under alternately in the Spiders’ last eight games, while the over is 13-4 in the Hawks’ previous 17 outings. The line is set pretty high in this one, and I cannot argue with the bookies, considering the teams’ current form and all their problems on the defensive end.
Both Richmond and Saint Joseph’s average above 70 possessions per 40 minutes. The Hawks play at the 20th-fastest pace in the country, recording 73.6 possessions per 40 minutes, so I’m going with the over, looking for some up-tempo basketball.
Pick: Go over 155.5 points at -110
